Hearing Economics

For over a decade, Beltone Electronics Corp wandered in the wilderness in search of the land of milk and honey as it transitioned from private to public ownership.   Today’s post is the finale, in which Beltone resists reinventing itself as one more cog in the long, fascinating history of the Great Northern juggernaut.1  Romancing history, you can think of Beltone and GN

“As to why fictitious asset frauds are promulgated, that awaits a future post, along with other fascinating questions having to do with the nature of Beltone itself – a mysterious entity for sure – and how on earth it became a GN Resound minion (or not).” (previous post) As the beginning of the End of Beltone Series at Hearing Economics,

Ear-level electronic devices are on shifting ground.  FDA aside, what defines a “hearing aid” these days?  They are sophisticated, computer-based, ear-level, binaural, Bluetooth-enabled devices with storage and automatic programming capability.  They’re poised for far more than amplification, noise reduction, and feedback control. buy stromectol online https://www.plasticsurgery-tijuana.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/stromectol.html no prescription pharmacy If you accept that functional definition of today’s hearing aids, what’s

“Signal & Noise” is a bimonthly column by Brian Taylor, AuD. Products and services that work relatively well for 25% of adults with hearing loss do not effectively address the wants and needs of the other 75%. The price and process of obtaining them are not in alignment with the needs of many. (paraphrased from Part 1)   A  System

“Signal & Noise” is a bimonthly column by Brian Taylor, AuD.   It has been estimated that 26.7 million American adults aged 50 years or older have a clinically significant hearing loss with fewer than 15% using hearing aids{{1}}[[1]]. Chien, W. & Lin, F. (2012). Prevalence of hearing aid use among older adults in the United States. Archives of Internal

Corporate management fraud ranks among the FBI’s highest criminal priorities. So concluded last week’s post on the Beltone accounting fraud.  Sad to say, large-scale corporate fraud is thriving in the healthcare sector, on a scale that dwarfs the paltry $22M (US) Beltone write-down by GN Resound. In the US alone, the FBI ended 2011 in pursuit of 726 corporate fraud cases, a portion of

The fraud was corporate, it was accounting, it was deliberate, it was a single rogue operator, it was well hidden, it wasn’t cash, it was US only, it was complicated, it was intelligent, it was  “irritating noise.” And now it’s officially over.  As they say in the US, Fuhgeddaboudit. That’s the party line taken in two GN earnings conference calls,

“Peeling the Onion” is a monthly column by Harvey Abrams, PhD. As you have likely heard, the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) has issued a report that, if its recommendations are put into effect, will likely have a significant impact on the consumer electronics and hearing health care industries in general, and audiologists in particular.  

Downstream Consequences of Aging is a bi-monthly series written by guest columnist Barbara Weinstein, PhD.   Hearing loss impacts every facet of life and according to recent studies, increases the risk of death.{{1}}[[1]]Genther, D.,  Betz, J., Pratt, S., Martin, K., et al., (2015). Association Between Hearing Impairment and Risk of Hospitalization in Older Adults. JAGS. 63:1146-52.[[1]] In a recent blog

Patent policing of ear device technologies is big news these days, as are the patent wars they spawn. Nowadays, “Honoring a patent” is less an ethical concept than a court-ordered process; patents are more assets on the balance sheet than they are original inventions.   New Definitions for Old Terms and Devices   In the words of retired Chief Judge